


Conversations between loved ones

by sciencepun (orphan_account)



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Family OC, M/M, iwaoi - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-01-04
Updated: 2016-02-12
Packaged: 2018-05-11 19:02:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,203
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5638330
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/sciencepun
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Let us go on a journey to find out how Oikawa Tooru became the person he is today! Shaped by things the people closest to him have said with the deepest sincerity. Or at least, psuedo-sincerity.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Between Mother and Son

**Author's Note:**

> It's so poetic I'm kind of embarrassed but also kind of proud.
> 
> (Ps. there is a prologue only included on my wattpad account: Jenningham)
> 
> Thank you lovedherdead for proof reading for me!!

He woke early that morning, to the sound of the bubble water feature in the pond below his window, A familiar sound, like a lullaby or a mother's voice. The time, 6:02, shone from the electric alarm clock of his bedside table. The date lay beside it. January 3rd, 2006. Ten years later, he would reflect on that day and he would consider the significance it held that he had been unaware of at the time.  
  


Anyway.

Oikawa Tooru woke early that morning, to the warmth of the portable heater blowing hot air gently toward him from the corner of the room. It was dark; the sun wouldn't rise for at least another hour, but still he drew his curtains to look out down the empty morning street. Sure enough, among the pebble garden (It was easier to care for than grass) lay a pool of water, full of goldfish, with a stone ball in the center bubbling water through a hole in the top. Just like always. A friendly consistency in a world of unfriendly people.

Of course, the entire world wasn't unfriendly. It was just that they were only friendly with their friends and they had no time for strangers like him. He had friends, sure, but not many that he truly trusted. There were only three people in his life he could trust wholeheartedly and two of them were family. The third wasn't. The third was a friend. Oikawa Tooru had many friends; most of them were fake; one was real.

There was no point in going back to sleep, he knew that he wouldn't be able to. It was too late for takebacks. That was another consistency in his life. Once he woke up, he couldn't return to the realm of sleep until it was nighttime again.  
  


It was still dark, to remedy this, he flipped the switch of the light on his bedside table. The light brought into view a few unexpected irregularities in his room. The first, and most obvious, was the note on his door that read 'See me - mom' in neat and curly lettering. It was kind of hard to read, but the handwriting was another consistency, and so he understood. The other disturbances were minor: socks on the floor moved into the laundry basket, books picked up and put on their shelves, proof that someone who cared had been there. Someone who cared was someone he trusted; that was the rule. Maybe it was strange for him to have a rule about what he should base his trust on. He didn't really care if it was; it would save him the pain of betrayal. No one could betray the people they cared about.

Breakfast came three hours later at 9:00 am. It was standard. The only irregularity was that there was not enough for him to drink a glass. He always had a glass of milk to build strong bones. That was, he always had a glass of milk when one was available. Today one was not.  
  


It was at around that point that he became painfully aware of how analytic he was being about such normal and standard things. It was almost as if someone was controlling his body for him, giving him the opportunity to simply be an observer. He had a pretty good guess of why.

No club activities. No club activities meant no games. No games meant no analytical thinking in an effort to decipher the thought processes of his opponents. No analytical thinking in an effort to-  
  


"Tooru?"

"Huh?"  
  


"You seem a little distracted today, what's wrong?" The expression his mother wore as she said these words was familiar.

A slight furrow of the brow, and the ever-so-slight parting of her lips in concern. Warm brown eyes that seemed to be able to read his emotional state with a glance.  
  


"Nothing, mom. I just woke up kind of early." He yawned to push the point that he was implying even further.

His mother was probably not convinced in the slightest. Especially since she had good memory; she had not forgotten the instruction on the note that she had written to her son.  
  


"Regardless of how you're feeling, I need to speak to you." Her voice became stern all of a sudden.

"Yes?"  
  


"This is very important; I want you to give me 100% of you attention." She smiled mischievously, this was one of her favourite parts of motherhood.

"I'm heading out." Chiyo stood up suddenly, shooting her younger brother a look of pity.  
  


The gloating kind of pity.

His mother cleared her throat, preparing to be as theatrical as possible. "I still remember the winter of 2003. You were 6 years old and you asked that horrifying question that all small children do upon seeing a younger relative for the first time. My reply was simplistic, I was prepared: 'Wait 3 years and you'll know'. Now, it has been 3 years. Though, technically, your cousin Kiyoshi doesn't turn 3 for another 6 days, I think you are mature enough now to handle this topic."  
  


"Good luck." Chiyo called back to him as she waltzed out the door.

"This is how babies are made: Every human is equipped with a reproductive organ. Women have a thing called a 'vagina', this is basically a sguidgy tunnel that babies come out of and-"  
  


"Okay, I know now where babies come from, I think I can go!" he began to panic.

"Not at all! You're missing all of the science." His mother was taking great pleasure in watching him go red from that notorious feeling of horror and embarrassment.  
  
  


That was not a fun conversation in the slightest. Unless if you were Chiyo, who had been listening through the keyhole of the front door. It was hilarious to her. Especially the part about so called 'sexual intercourse'.

"How scientific." She thought to herself. There was also a part of Chiyo that felt bad for her brother. Or, more accurately, mournful that his childish innocence was now compromised for good. 

Ah well, it couldn't be helped.

 

  
*** 

 

  
"Alright, let me see." 

He hitched himself up unto the kitchen counter and held his arm out to his mother.

"What were you doing to get a bruise like that?" 

He averted his gaze sheepily away from the massive purple bruise along his left forearm and instead toward the one at the edge of his palm. She noticed.

"How do you even get bruises there?" She sighed, grabbing his hand so that she could see better. 

"I was-"

"Wait, I know, " She shot him a look that somehow managed to convey both how fed-up she was and how bad he should feel for what he'd done. "These are from practice, aren't they?" 

"Only the one on my hand! The one on my arm is because I slammed my arm against a tree-"

"And why did you do that?" 

"I was talking and-"

"Alright, alright. What do you want me to do? I have bruise cream but..." She didn't need to finish her sentence. 

"Well, I can't play properly if I have bruises so I need to do something!"

"You'll just have to take a break then. They'll never heal if you keep hitting them while playing." 

He looked away, a strange mix of boiling anger and cold, hard guilt running through his blood and wrapping its tendrils around his heart. Maybe such an extreme emotional reaction wasn't really warranted but he didn't know how else to react. He just wanted to keep playing, that was all. It wasn't a lot to ask. He wanted to play and win. Nothing else. Hot tears welled up in his eyes. This was such a stupid reason to cry. Why the hell was he crying?

"Hey," Her voice was softer now, as she put a hand on his shoulder. "You might not realize this right now, but if you keep hurting yourself the way you do, you're just going to have to keep taking time off to heal. " 

"I'll just endure it and keep playing."

"That's not sustainable. How long until you start to break bones? How long until you tear a hole in your heart? How long until you're coughing blood? Do you realize what kind of affect that will have on, not only you, but those who have to deal with you and try to protect you as you kill yourself?! Because that's what you're doing!" She took a deep breath. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have shouted." 

She passed him the tube of bruise cream, before vanishing out of the front door, muttering something about needing to 'buy more medical supplies, thanks to him.'

 

 

 

 


	2. Between Brother and Sister

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's two days late!! I sort of expected this as I had the chapter in my folders for about 2 weeks as unfinished before looking at it again and realising I had no idea what else to write. The next chapter will be better, I promise (though it may take longer!)

Chiyo Oikawa was the sort of person who stubbornly considered themself as young despite being a 90 year old grandma. She had always been immature; when she was a teenager, she had acted like a child and when she was a child she acted like a baby. Now an adult, she acted like an especially reckless teenager. This sense of immaturity could rub off on others easily. Her traits managed to wind their way into Tooru's own personality, making him a wild combination of intensity and childishness. Kind of like a really evil five year old. Which, however you spun it, could not be considered a compliment in the slightest. Chiyo got her fair share of tellings off from their parents for setting a terrible example. She was a tad more sincere than her brother, with honesty and emotion with buckets to spare. However, she was no less dedicated to her life's cause: landscaping.

  
It was a strange thing to be interested in, but, as she had once argued: 'No one wants to hang about in an ugly park'. Landscaping could be exciting if you spun it right. The elegant forms of topiary bushes hidden amongst regular foliage, as a delightful little surprise for explores and wanderers alike. The bubbling water of peaceful pebble water fountains at the centre of pools of brightly coloured fish, swimming like there was nothing more relaxing than their current circumstances. And the feel of dew-soaked grass under a bare foot, let grow to seem wild, yet mown just enough to be tame. Chiyo knew landscaping better than any regular person. Which was slightly strange, to an outsider.

  
Anyway, Chiyo was a good sister overall. She had her off days like anyone else but she made the best of things. And she cared like no one knew. She cared so much that she often felt as if her heart was overflowing with all of this love. She wouldn't have it any other way.

  
"Talk to me, Tooru." The skin between her brows creased gently as she spoke.

  
"Specifics please." Tooru replied in that teasing sing-song voice he used so much with those he cared about the most. And also he wanted to piss off the most.

  
"Wow, okay I guess I'll just leave you to suffer alone then."

  
"What do you mean?" He was curious now.

  
"Tooru~" She smiled that eyes-only smile she was so good at. "You have a crush, don't you?"

  
"What- No!" He averted his eyes, trying his harded to avoid looking guilty. She also had this peculiar talent for always hitting the nail bang on the head.

  
"Come on, you can tell me, I'm not mom, ya know?" She sighed. "What IS wrong with you?"

  
"Hey!"

  
"No- I mean-" The crease between her brows deepened. "You seem too poetic."

  
"Poetic?"

  
"Yeah, like you're reciting that one english poet... What's his name? Yeah! Byron. Lord Byron; he was the one who wrote all those weird 'poetry' poems we had to study in advanced English." She sat down, crossing her legs. "I don't know. How DO you feel?"

  
He would have liked to respond with something closer to the lines of "I feel like shit." Which would've just been him skipping out on actually admitting that he hadn't really paid much attention to his feelings for a long time. But halfway through his answer he realised that swearing in front of an adult probably may not be th best idea, so his reply was, simply; "I feel."

  
"Smooth." Chiyo raised an eyebrow. "I see why you're getting all the girls now."

  
"It's not my fault if I'm attractive!"

  
"It's your fault for being such a damn flirt." She snorted. "Well, whoever it is that you have the hots for, they won't be able to tell if you pay everyone the same about of compliments."

  
"What are you saying?"

  
"Don't be so loose, little brother." She smiled mischeviously and left him sitting in stunned silence.

 

"I'm not loose!" He finally called after her as she she grabbed her purse.

 

"You flirt with everyone. You let them flirt back. You've been in several relationships before, despite only being fourteen." She scoffed. "How is that not loose?"

 

"I don't sleep with anyone! That's what loose is, isn't it? Sleeping with lots of people."

 

"You're loose with your flirtation, then." She tugged at the front door handle and stepped down onto the cold stone path outside. "Right! Conversation over! Stop flirting with people! Tell that person you like them! Live! Goodbye!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if there were spelling or grammar mistakes! I use Zen writer and it doesn't have a built in spell check so I usually get my friend to read things through but she's probably asleep as I'm writing this and I can't wait any longer to get this chapter up. Also it's kinda short but oh well.
> 
> This is a fanfic that I will force myself to finish, even if it kills me!! I have a bad habit of leaving things unfinished but I'm trying to break that.
> 
> The person he's crushing on could be whoever you want!


End file.
